Door control



. Oct 24," 1939. F. J. BIRD 2,177,275

DOOR CONTROL Filed May 12, 1837 INVENTOR.

FfiA/YC/J' J BIR ATTORNEY.

Patented Oct. 24, v,

' UNITED STATES PATENT v OFFICE nooi r i llinop I I Francis 1. Bird, L0! Angeles, all".

Application m 12, 1937, Serial No. 142,203

This invention has relation to doors and has particular reference to-means for controlling the operation of doors, particularly garage doors.

A certain type of door, used mostly on residential garages, which commercially is known as the overhead door" is becoming so popular, at least in this section of the country, that very few doors of other accepted designs now are installed in garages. Such doors are provided with means for locking the doors in vertical, closed position, but generally are left unlocked in open, horizontal position, counter-weights or springs being relied upon to maintain the doors open. Ordinarily no looking means is required to maintain such doors open, but extraordinary circumstances such as the pressure of high winds may be found sumcient to piclr up the door panel and to swing the door back into vertical, closedposition. As the door panel is quite heavy, particularly where the opening of a double garage is closed by a single door, it is seen that such falling door may be very dangerous to human life.

In view of the foregoing, it is the object -of the invention to provide means for locking an overhead door in its upper, open position. It is a further object to provide adjustable means for locking such door in open position. It isa sun. further object to provide means for manually;

door showing the door in its upper, open position, in its relation to parts of the door frame and including the devices of the invention,

Fig. 2 is a fragmentary view on a larger scale of portions of the door and frame of Fig. 1, to-

gether with the devices of the invention, and

Fig; 3 is a substantially corresponding plan view of the device separated fromthe door.

Doors of the overhead type, as now used, are

' hung on pivots I by means of arms 2, and the latter are fastened to the inside of the panel I, nearits ends, causing its upper and lower edges to travel in a circular path I, and respectively to come to a stop against the inner and bottom portions of the corner [of the door frame. A spring I extends from each arm 2 to a point. I on the wall of the garage to counter-balance the door panel, or counter-weights are sometimes substituted.

As shown in Figs. 2 and 3. the device of the to invention comprises a plate ",having perforated the bottom of the plate II. In this manner, it 10 is seen that the spring livyieldingly maintains the handle in elevated position with the stop screw abutting the underside of the plate 1.. A

- short cord II extends from the handle through the aperture in the panel 3.

As shown in Fig. 2, the door panel is in elevated, horizontal position, in which position. the bottom edge of the panel is pressed against the bottom edge of the door frame. It is customary at this point to provide rubber bumpers ii to so soften the impact of the door panel against the door frame. The line H indicates the line of travel of the handle which, the moment the door panel moves forward, will come into contact with meat of the door. when, on the other hand, it is desired manually'to close the door, it is merely required to reach for the cord I! and to draw the handle which position it is free to pass the corner I,

upon continued pull on cord, whereupon the door may be lowered'into closed position.

When the door again is opened, it is seen that the door frame at 5, thereby to stop further move :5

downward until it strikes the door panel, in 80 the handle u strikes the bottom mil-moo of the :5

door frame, at the corner 6, and that it is able to 1 yield, against the tension of the spring ii. to

permit it to pass this corner whereupon it instantly snaps back into "locking position.

In installing doors of this type, it is not always to possible to place the panel in exactly the same relation to the door frame. For this reason, it is sometimes necessary toaddust the angle of inclination of the handle, and such adjustment is readily attainedby merely turning the screw i4 45 marilywith a view to facilitate reading of the 50 drawing. In actual practice, there may be a spring I! and a stop screw ll at each end ofv the handle, and the shape of the parts may be modifled so long as such modifications come within the I scope of theappended claims.

. opposite direction.

2. In an overhead swinging door, a panel pivotally hung for movement from a vertical closed position relative to the .door frame to a horizontal open position, an operating handle pivotally mounted on the front of the door, a spring maintaining said handle outwardly handle striking the door frame as the door rises and yielding against its spring to pass said frame, thereupon to resume its projected position and to stop movement of the door in the opposite direction, and means operable from the other side of the door for manually'retracting the handle to permit such movement in the opposite direction.

3. In an overhead door, a panel pivotally hung for upward swinging movement relative to the door frame, an operating handle pivotally mounted on the front of the panel, a spring maintaining said handle outwardly projected, adjustable means limiting the outward projection of said handle, the handle striking the door frame as the door rises and yielding against its spring to pass said frame, thereupon to resume its projected position and to stop movementof the door in the opposite direction.

4. In an overhead swinging door, a door panel in closed position vertically seated against the door frame and upwardly movable into horizontal open position, a spring-held member on the panel for manually raising the panel, said member being capable of yielding to pass the door frame in rising but positioned to arrest movement in the opposite direction after passing the frame.

5. In an overhead swinging door, a door panel in closed position vertically seated against the door frame and upwardly movable into horizontal open position, a spring-held member on one side of the panel for manually raising the latter, said member being capable of yielding to pass the door frame in rising but positioned to arrest movement of the door in the opposite direction, and means operable from the other side of the panel for manually retracting said member to permit movement of the panel in the opposite direction to close the door.

6. In an overhead swinging door, a door panel in closed position vertically seated against the door frame and upwardly movable into horizontal position, means on one side of the door panel for upwardly moving said panel, said means reprojected, said sisting return movement of the panel, and means operable from the opposite side of the panel for releasing the panel for return movement.

'7. The combination with a jamb and a door panel having marginal contact along one edge with one side of the jamb in closed position and movable on a circular arc until marginal contact -is effected along the opposite edge of the panel with the inner face of the same 'J'amb; of a spring-held handle on one side of the door for opening the door, said handle passing the jamb at the end of the opening movement and being depressed by the jamb in order to pass, against the tension of its spring, to regain its normal position after passing the jamb and thereby to resist movement of the door in. the opposite direction.

8. The combination with a jamb and a door panel having marginal contact along one edge with one side of the jamb'in closed position and movable on a circular arc until marginal contact is effected along the opposite edge of the panel with the inner face of the same jamb; of a springheld handle on one side of the door for openin the door, said handle passing the jamb at the end of the opening movement and being depressed by the jamb in order to pass, against the tension of its spring, to regain its normal position after passing the jamb and thereby to resist movement of the door in the opposite direction, and means operable from the opposite side of the door for depressing the handle to release the door for closing.

9. The combination with a door having an opening therethrough, of a'plate mounted on the door to bridge said opening, a handle pivotally hung on said plate, means yieldingly maintaining said handle outwardly projected, adjustable means limiting the outward movement of the handle, and means operable from the other side of the door for retracting the handle.

10. The combination with a door, having an opening therethrough, of a plate mounted on one side of the door to bridge said opening, a handle pivotally mounted on said plate and outwardly projecting therefrom, an arm secured to the handle pivot to swing with the handle, a spring between the free end of said arm and the door to maintain said handle yieldingly projected, and

means extending through the opening for re- 1 tracting the handle.

11. The combination with a door having an opening therethrough, of a plate mounted on the doorbridging said opening, a handle pivotally mounted on said plate, an arm secured to the handle pivot to swing with the handle, a spring between the free end of said arm and the door maintaining said handle outwardly projected, means extending through said opening for retracting the handle, and adjustable means limiting the movement of the handle.

FRANCIS -J. BIRD. 

